User Guide: Getting the most out of the Olympus E-M5

Getting the most out of the Olympus E-M5

During the process of preparing the review of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 we spent quite a lot of time trying to work out how every little setting worked. Also being in the fairly unusual situation of having tried to describe the menu options of most Olympus cameras over the past couple of years, I thought it'd make sense to share the things I've found, alongside the findings of dilligent E-M5 owner Timur Born.

Some of these are fairly obvious and some are a matter of taste, but they're all things that we think most E-M5 owners will at least want to be aware of. So please join us on a journey through the settings you might want to play with on the E-M5.

Throughout this article, all menus and item names are stated in bold and any symbols in the menus replaced with a [description] in square brackets.

First things first:

When you first insert a battery into the E-M5, it'll try to behave like a DSLR - showing the Super Control Panel settings screen on the back of the camera and using the electronic viewfinder for previewing the image. Which strikes me as odd - one of the main things the E-M5 offers over a DSLR is seamless operation, regardless of whether you shoot with the rear screen or the viewfinder. Pressing the Live View button on the side of the viewfinder hump pushes the camera into live view mode, allowing use of the EVF and rear screen interchangeably.

The other thing you might wish to do, when you enter the menus for the first time, is press 'INFO' to stop the camera hiding most of the screen behind very slightly extended versions of the current menu item's name. If you're ever uncertain about an option's function, you can always hit 'INFO' again, just to see if the lengthier wording helps clarify the matter.

The other thing to remember is that the menus tend to require you to press 'OK' to confirm - it's easy, especially when you're trying to go on an change another setting, to select an option and the press 'left' to move back through the menus, only to find your setting change hasn't stuck.

User interface tricks and tips

Enabling the Super Control Panel for fast settings changes

The Super Control Panel is one of our favorite user interfaces - it puts all your key settings on a single screen, making it easy to check or change your setup. On the E-M5 it's been made even better by being made touch sensitive, meaning you can simply hit OK to bring the screen up, tap the setting you wish to change, then spin the dial to change it. Alternatively, you can press 'OK' to see a list of available settings.

Strangely, though, Super Control Panel isn't enabled, by default, in the E-M5's live view settings. We think this is one of the most important single changes you can make for making the shooting experience faster and more enjoyable.

The Super Control Panel gives easy access to the camera's key settings

To enable the Super Control Panel, you need to go to the '[Camera] Control Settings' option in Custom Menu, section D. From here you can decide which user interface is available in the difference exposure modes. You can have more than one interface available in each mode. In general we'd suggest the Super Control Panel - marked as LIVE SCP in the menus - as being ideal for giving you the quickest access to the most functions, all on a single screen.

Once you've made LIVE SCP available for the shooting mode you're using, simply press the OK button from live view and the Super Control Panel should be overlaid as in the screen shot above. If you have left 'Live Control' engaged, you can switch between the interfaces by pressing INFO when the settings are displayed on the screen.

Choosing live view displays and configuring Highlights & Shadows

There five main live view display types available on the E-M5, four of which are optional. As with Super Control Panel, the one we think is best is disabled by default. The available views can be selected by visiting Custom Menu D, '[Thumbnail]/Info Settings' - 'LV-Info.' We'd suggest disabling the histogram, which is rather small and hard to read, and enable the 'Highlights&Shadow' view.

Highlights & Shadow indicates the under- and over-exposed regions of an image by replacing them with blue and red, respectively. This gives an immediate idea of which detail you risk losing with your current exposure. They're also easy to interpret, even in bright conditions where you can't see fine contrast differences on the screen.

Highlight & Shadow simulation

Better still, the threshold at which the camera indicates under- and over-exposure can be defined in Custom Menu D, 'Histogram Settings.' Depending on how you process your images, you're likely to want to experiment to find settings that suit you, but a setting of 250 - 5 usually provides a good safety-net.

The same options also exist for the electronic viewfinder and are customized in Custom Menu J - '[EVF] Info Settings'. This menu option only has an effect if you've selected Style 1 or 2 from the 'Built-in EVF Style' option at the top of Custom Menu J. These viewfinder styles offer a smaller image preview surrounded by a black or blue information panel but do have the benefit that you can choose a live view display independently of the one you've chosen for the rear screen. We've tended to stick with the default 'Style 3' which exactly mimics the rear display and uses the entire viewfinder area (but also means you have to use the same preview options you selected for the rear screen).

Buttons and dials

There are three primary configurable buttons on the E-M5's body, with the option of another two, if you're willing to give up direct access to AF point selection on the four-way controller. The three primary buttons - Fn1, Fn2 and REC have a wide range of options that can be configured in Custom Menu B - 'Button Function.'

If you also want to use the 'Right' and 'Down' arrows on the four-way controller as configurable buttons, you'll need to change the '[Four Way] Function' to 'Direct Function.' The two buttons can then be configured separately. With this option chosen, AF selection becomes a mode, accessed by pressing 'Left' on the four-way controller, and requiring a press of 'OK' to confirm each change.

When configuring buttons, there are a couple of things to remember - Fn2, if set to 'Multi Function' allows access to four functions (including magnified live view), so you may find it the most useful option. To switch between functions, simply hold down Fn2 and spin a control dial. Also, only four of the functions that can be assigned to Fn1 are available in movie mode (AEL/AFL, Off, Digital Teleconverter and AF Area Select) - if you select anything other than these, Fn1 will act as focus acquire/hold when shooting movies. More detail can be found later in this article.

No and yes. Principally no, but Face Detection in combination with Evaluative/Matrix metering shifts spot focus to the detected face area. Drawback is that when the detection is lost it jumps back Evaluative and when it detects again it jumps back to face spot and when it loses again it jumps back to...

And this only works in combination with Evaluative, not with any other metering mode.

Just found another "half-way" variant. When you use the full-screen zoomed in view of Magnify in combination with Evaluative metering the the currently zoomed in part of the image gets a bigger weight versus the rest of the image. But you have to use the full-screen zoom view, not the one where you see the zoom box, and again just in combination with Evaluative metering.

And that weighting is not the same as the full on spot metering of Face Detection. It somewhere in between normal Evaluative and Face Detection spot when zooming into the spot of the face via Magnify.

I checked this again and the full-screen Magnify part doesn't seem to be true in all situations. It might only work that way in combination with a detected face. Still a bit confusing, so I need more time to better understand how this works.

Having just got my Olympus OMD this section was invaluable for getting the best out of the camera, it has saved me a lot of extra time with the manual & experimentation in deciding how best to set the OMD menus & functions.I cannot thank or praise you enough for your excellent over all review & this section on how to get the best from your camera.The OMD is a very configurable camera & the Olympus manual is not the most user friendly . Thanks & keep up the good work.

I just sent a long-awaited OMD EM5 back to Amazon because nothing happened after I charged the battery, put it in, and tried to turn on the camera. There was absolutely nothing on the screen, or any other indication that the camera was "On".

When I posted this in the review section of Amazon, a reply said I had to press a button on the side of the viewfinder to see anything in the screen. This is contrary to the manual, and the DP Review.

"Triggering the sensor will switch the camera straight to shooting mode, which is great if you want to quickly grab a shot ..."

I learned the hard way that it can take long enough to switch that you can lose a spontaneous shot, I think it was due to the auto power-save setting.Enough that I lost a few race sequences because the camera didn't restart the EVF fast enough for me to acquire the racecar and start panning.

Autofocus in continuous shooting mode (still photos)I am debating purchasing this camera. I believe that at 9 frames/sec, AF is locked on the first frame. I would be willing to accept a slower burst rate, in exchange for AF refocusing on the subject with every shot. I seem to recall reading that shooting at 4 fps does this. Can anyone confirm this?Thanks.

User manual, page 56:"Sequential HPhotographs are taken at about 9 frames per second (fps) while the shutter button is pressed all the way down. Focus, exposure, and white balance are fixed at the values for the first shot in each series ([S-AF], [MF])."

"Sequential L: Photographs are taken at about 4 frames per second (fps) while the shutter button is pressed all the way down. Focus and exposure are fixed according to the options selected for [AF Mode] (P. 86) and [AEL/AFL] (P. 86)."Choose C-AF, will be C-AF at Sequential L.

Hi, Peevee1Thanks for responding. I have a PDF of the manual, and I read that. C-AF = continuous autofocus, but that means (I think) that the system is continually updating the autofocus as long as the shutter button is pressed halfway (page 43). It doesnt say what happens when the shutter button is pressed all the way down, to initiate the burst of shots. Is it being contunally updated, same as when the shutter is held halfway down? The manual doesnt exactly say that, as far as I can tell. P 86 didnt help me. Thanks again.

Practically I have found that using "low" mode at 4fps the camera will refocus in CAF and CAF[TR] modes.Once I switched to "high" mode at 9fps then the camera did not refocus between shots.That learning experience cost me about 80% of the shots in the corkscrew at Laguna Seca.

Great article.Just two comments:- I hope it will be a "living" article, i.e. it gets updated by the authors with new learnings / tips from the DPReview readers community (eg. with the often excellent tips or corrections made on the m4/3 Forum here on the site)- A versioning (or mention the "updated on" date) of the article would be a nice addition in that case

I agree on this one. I'm about to comment the same thing, but I saw this post. The new findings from the user would help this document a very powerful guide. For example, there's a lot of new user asking if photos can be displayed on the rear screen after the shot. The default Review Time set is 0.5sec which is some of the users are not noticing it and always end up pressing the "play" button.

On more thing I notice is that the default level gauge is way off and you need to re-calibrate it.

Some background: I'm a proud owner of an old OM system. Bought my first digital (Olympus E-30) last year. Great camera. Ridiculously horrific ownwer's manual--pure garbage.

New to digital, I needed something that a human being could actually understand. Based on the garbage manual, I swore that I would never buy another Olympus camera.

Then, doing research on the Nikon D7000, I noticed the new Olympus EM-5. Based on the exhaustive DPREVIEW, the quality of the pictures is better than any APS-C camera available for comparison! (If I'm correct, the otherwise excellent review should have made this point clearly!)

So, I am seriously considering the EM-5. Before I hit my head against the wall again, however, I wonder if you, more experienced EM-5 users, could help me with some info:

--Is the Owner's Manual actually comprehensible, or another piece of garbage?

--Can anyone confirm that the Leica lenses used by the Lumix cameras are also "AOK" for the EM-5?

The manual is a bit of a poorly written mess, and use of the camera is not straightforward; it takes hours before things start to make sense. When you reach that point, you know you have a great camera in your hands. I have mine one week now, and the camera's results make me very very happy!

If a well written manual is essential to you; don't bother with the EM-5, or wait until there is a 3rd party book which explains things more clearly and in a better organized fashion.

However, if you make the effort to learn, and work your way through a frustration or two, the camera itself won't disappoint you.

Thank you, brumd !I'll try to download the manual and see how (il)legible it is.It seems downright weird that a world-class company like Olympus puts up with such crappy translations into English !By the way, the translation (of the E-30 manual) into Spanish is taken from the English version, so you can imagine how ridiculous it is.Is Olympus global marketing listening ???Such fine technology...such crappy communications!Olympus marketing, this is costing you market share !

Ignace: I have Nikon D7000 (amongst others) and I do not think M5 is as good for a pixel-peeping high detailed landscape shot, printet out huge, as I often do (D7000 is also iso 100), and the D7000 is better for sports, but the D7000 is not pocketable, and the Olynpus M5 is = I ordered it with the Sigma 30mm, and now I can have a camera with me all the time in my pocket and that counts a lot for me

I got my camera on Monday, and it's been a busy week anyway. So I'm just trying to set the thing up. To avoid battery drain I've switched off eye-sensor and use the evf for continual use with a time out of around one-minute. Then to see through it, I've only got to half press the shutter release. When I go into review the screen comes on. I can switch back to evf by pressing the evf button.

I really like this camera.Very nice to read that Olympus makes such a good camera.Also very nice Olympus makes very, very good lightsensitive lenses.But...Why doesn't Olympus make it that way, we can use these two very good products together!!Shame on Olympus!Pity for me...

I found this behavior on "Auto" mode.When I set the Noise Filter to OFF under Auto Mode, seems like the setting will back to "Standard" if I switch to P mode and back to "Auto".Seems like the setting didn't really save.Any idea?

While I await my camera I can console myself with the helpful tips for setting it up. Thank you for a great article and for sharing the benefit of your experience. I hope there will be more articles like this in the future.

Well, this is the first camera I've owned where after a couple of hours with camera, instruction manual and this site, I'm so far unable even to find a way to change the file format to RAW. As for the Super CP, it remains elusive, even after following the suggestions above. I am beginning to hate this software.

Perhaps you're not actually reading your manual... if you look at page 54 of the manual you will find what you need. Or, look in the index of the manual for "RAW" (hint: it is under "R") and it will tell you what you need to know once you go to the directed page.

Thank you for the review, BUT, no one has tested this with existing Olympus lenses. I've tried to sell my E-620 and $4K in lenses because I didn't think Olympus was going to advance. I took my Olympus lenses to the store to try with the OM-D and it seemed slow to AF. Has anyone done this? I need to know so I can divest of Olympus and cross over to Sony (?) or Nikon. Thanks for any help.

I have E-PL1 and tested some 4/3 lenses, all of them too slow so I sold adapter and only chance is in my opinion use Micro4/3. I have now 9-18, 14-150 and 45 and really impressed with OM-D. I've downloaded full manual from olympus web and no issues with any settings. Also help in camera sometimes helps...

Which 43 lenses do you have? I have used the 11-22 on an EP-2, and it focused quite quickly. It depends on the lens, what you are trying to focus, the conditions, and also the camera settings. ie vivid increases contrast and hence increases focus speed. I have not got the adapter yet, and by then, it won't matter. The 14-54 mkII lens focuses at the speed of the original 14-42 kit lens for m43, some say faster. And you can always manually focus, which works, and the camera can be told to zoom right in when you rotate the dial on the lens. And now, IBIS can work on a half shutter press, so that makes focusing manually much easier.

And you know, some of the 43 lenses are extremely special. But they are a lot bigger than m43 ones.

Enabling the Super Control Panel for fast settings changesHello, I do not understand this.... it does not work... anybody here how can help?

The Super Control Panel is one of our favorite user interfaces - it puts all your key settings on a single screen, making it easy to check or change your setup. On the E-M5 it's been made even better by being made touch sensitive, meaning you can simply hit OK to bring the screen up, tap the setting you wish to change, then spin the dial to change it. Alternatively, you can press 'OK' to see a list of available settings.

Strangely, though, Super Control Panel isn't enabled, by default, in the E-M5's live view settings. We think this is one of the most important single changes you can make for making the shooting experience faster and more enjoyable.

Me neither. I've set the SCP to on for every mode however I cannot manage to get the screenshot shown above to appear. Infuriatingly I am completely unable to find any other way to change the file format. I find this scarcely believable. How about some suggestions DPR!

I too have followed the above directions on the SCP and can't get it to be super-imposed over the live view image the way it is in the screen shot. I am loving the camera so far and appreciate the article. Some further explanation to figure this out would be great. Thanks.

Enable the SCP in the menu as described in the article and exit the menus.

When in live view press the "OK" button. This brings up one of the control panels (Live Control, Live SCP, Live Guide) depending on which you have enabled in CustomD>Control Settings for the mode you are in (PASM etc.).

Once one of the control panels is displayed, then you can use the "info" button to scroll between them.

The camera remembers the last control panel used and opens that control panel the next time you press the "OK" button in live view.

Thanks to Peter 1745! I had laboriously been switching to the SCP by hitting the button on the side of the viewfinder, which didn't always work. Your technique of hitting the OK button to bring up the SCP is a HUGE improvement! BTW, it supers the SCP over the live view, so it's better than the normal way of accessing the SCP, which blanks out the live view. This lets me run the camera in my preferred mode (with ALL icons turned off), but still lets me access the options directly. THANKS!

press the OK button, you can change the setting by touching that section and the front dial to change it, or press the OK button again to enter that setting for fine tuning,if you cannot see the super control panel go back to menu and turn off control panel(default setting)

Please do explain.. I can access the SCP with no problem and understand how to use it, but regardless of having it turned on or off in the menu settings I still can't get it to super-impose over the live view image.

Looking through VF press the ok button to bring up the LV control panel. Note you cannot get the SCP to superimpose over the LV image when looking through VF. The SCP is for the rear screen in LV mode. The LV control panel is not the same as the SCP.

I am really torn and solicit everyone's opinion. I can't decide between a Sony NEX 7 and E-M5. Kit lens with both to start. I want a camera that delivers great images after enlargement and post-processing and is easy to travel with thus the reason the DSLR must stay home. I have now ordered both but will only purchase one. I like the idea of the size of the APS-C sensor over the 4/3. I have downloaded and thoroughly read both manuals and every review and I am still looking for the definitive reason to select one over the other. Conversely, the E-M5 image stabilization in the body seems superior to optical stabilization. Thank you for any help.

In the main there isn't enough difference to worry about. If you like how one operates over the other go with that one. Sony may have the best senors but it has the a so-so processor. I've owned a 5n and borrowed a 7 so I know how easy it is to fool the processor. Operation is where the biggest difference will be.

µ4/3 can mount any lens with the right adapter. So that includes all the Leicas, as well as many other legacy lenses such as pancake primes from Pentax and Konica, and even tiny CCTV lenses. Adapters for µ4/3 are all over eBay, and guides are here in the micro 4/3 forum and across the web. I have an f1.8 40mm Konica Hexanon I've been using for great paid portraits over the years on my 4/3rds E-620, and just adapted it to fit on my new Pen E-PL1.

If enlargement is important, then the NEX7, because it has a bigger sensor and higher resolution. You would need of course very good lenses to get the most out of it. In this respect, the manual focus assistance is very practical and widens your choice of lenses. However, you need to read the reviews carefully, because not all manual focus lenses work ideally with the NEX-7's sensor. However, you should have enough compatible Voigtländer and Zeiss to get on with.

Go for the E-M5...the IBIS allows for amazing video footage hand-held. I've been a professional video cameraman for 35 years, and Olympus's IBIS cannot be matched by any other camera, period. I just shot some long hand-held takes (3-4 minutes each) and my producer couldn't tell that I hadn't used a tripod, even though I was zooming into medium-telephoto shots up to 40mm (80mm equiv.). The supposed smaller-sensor deficit of the E-M5 compared to APS-C is negligible...the 5-axis IBIS of the E-M5 makes it superior to ANY other camera, regardless of sensor size (and that INCLUDES full-frame).

So while the DPR guys and the Olympus crowd are happily chatting away and learning to use the E-M5 down to the finest details, the rest of us are still waiting for reviews of other, also interesting cameras to be published...

Great add-on article and glad you add this on as an extra 'how to' guide so we don't need to search through all the pages of a review over and over again as we get acquainted with a new camera. This is kind of like a quick reference guide and wish that camera manufactures would add this type of information in their manuals.Glad the guys at DP are doing it for them...Maybe you guys could contract with these camera companies to show their buyers how to use their products to get the most out of them:)Thank you for all your hard work!

hmmm.. was there a review posted before? would expect such an article before or at least in it. such info used to appear years ago at dcresource but with time every review became alike. i understand that comparing pixels, buttons, iso, dynamic range etc. is useful to assess a camera. but for a potential buyer info how to set settings to get most out of a camera is essential if not more important than bare facts.... well done but would ask guys at dpreview to take a little more time when reviewing cameras and introduce a section called recommended/cute/cool settings or whatever, that would be definitely of a value add to potential customers, thanks

Guessed you'd be trying to get your info out ahead of the UK offer deadline, but didn't *know*, so went ahead with purchase anyway on strength of gallery shots alone... Great idea to break out a "Getting the most out of..." article, most helpful.

This is a really useful and helpful article. Thank you. I am strongly considering buying the E-M5 (it seems to be back-ordered everywhere I've looked though). I have a PEN EP2 - which I really like, especially the size.

Two questions: 1. Is it possible to set auto-bracketing easily? I do a lot of landscape photography and setting/unsetting bracketing on the EP-2 is a real pain. I don't see this listed as a feature on the custom dials..... (and if it isn't possible, please tell me the bracketing control is not set at the bottom level of a series of menus as for the EP-2).

2. Size. The E-M5 is clearly 'cute' and has small SLR look to it. However, for me the beauty of the PENs is their size/function ratio. I've left my Canon DSLR in the cupboard for the past 2 years. So, is Olympus planning a revised PEN - with many of the features of the E-OM5?

It's best to set up your auto bracketing parameters and then save them into one of the four MySet memories (Shooting Menu One). Though you can set up a seven shot bracketed burst, you're limited to 2/3 stop range, so it's better to set up a one-stop bracket using five exposures. Hope this helps and happy shooting.And thanks to the dpreview team for this tremendously helpful article!

Thanks. Both replies are very helpful. Now I'm going to get on a waiting list to get one... Again, thanks to DP Review - this type of article is really helpful and goes beyond the straightforward review (giving specfics for those of us a little slow to change the default values is appreciated!).

First post for me and I have to ask the silliest of questions. I just got the camera and cannot select multiple images in order to delete a batch of photos. It says in the manual that you can do this, but how?

Hey, glad you found the answer! Posting on the forum may have been more appropriate, but you would've gotten help. As far as manuals, sometimes when writers start from scratch they forget some basic things that seem old pat. Still... better descriptions and writing is a golden thing for companies to improve on.

I own an E-M 5 and am finding this guide very helpful. But the very need for it seems to suggest that Olympus is using customization as a substitute for design.

It's as if someone said, "We can't be bothered to think through all the aspects of our user interface. We'll just dump that job off on the purchaser instead."

To make matters worse, many of the setting procedures seem arbitrary or arcane: turning a feature "on" by setting its "Off" mode to "Off", to choose the particularly silly example of enabling stabilization for continuous bursts.

The E-M 5 feels good in the hand, and it usually can be made to take good pictures eventually, but I still often find myself wondering whether I bought the right camera.

Actually, the OM-D most of the control interface is better than many. That's based on almost four decades of experience. You rightly post a few possible exceptions. Certainly having to finish the actual camera and get it out the door during near-death times may have led to some slip-ups, but much of the complexity is a necessary complex of the huge rang of functions, and, especially, the high degree of configuability

As for the manual, having taught technical communication for years, and also having done some technical translation, I can assure you that it is monumental task to try organize and explain the multiple functions of such a modern high-level instrument in multiple languages. Especially as features are being finished, and sometimes even -along with bugs - being discovered!

This makes it very much easier to post, and therefore be able to update and correct online information, rather than wasting whole forests.

erichK - Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on the OM-D interface; it's a mess! The organisation of the menu system could certainly be better, and many of the options are rather mysterious (probably due to poor wording / use of English).

I do agree with you to a large extent about the manual. However, I think much of the problem is that it (and many other manuals) doesn't describe how to actually *use* the camera, but rather what each individual feature does in isolation.

This has been a very timely article having used the OMD on 2 events recently. The high ISO and image stabilization makes this a nice option for receptions. Small unobtrusive and more then capable for the job.

Thank you for taking the time to share this info, and please continue to update as more is learned. Job well done!

Personally I still have to decide myself if the extra functionality and quality is worth the considerable higher price and increased bulk compared to the Fujifilm X10. For that I first concentrated on functionality and getting to know the camera and will now have a closer look at sensor/image quality (45/1.8 should arrive tomorrow) and revisit AF performance comparisons.

In any case, the E-M5 seems like a fine camera and you get what you pay for in a positive sense. It's not unlikely that I will keep it and thus take a full step into the mFT system.

Thanks for a very useful article. However, I do think that it is ridiculous that an item costing well in excess of £1000 arrives with an inadequate manual. The paper manual is only a few pages long and the CD manual is minimal. This trend is not confined to Olympus and seems to be a feature of computer software also. Surely it's not due to the expense when you can pick up thick printed catalogues from shops for nothing. The manual that came with the Panasonic G1 was much better and that was just covering the basics. Despite this quibble, I must say that this camera is a delight.

As an E-M5 user I have a question:After shooting you'll get the image on the selected display for e.g. 3sec.Using the view finder you'll see the image in the view finderUsing the display - similar -> on the display.

I'd like to take the shot using the view finder and see the result on the display - like I am used from my DSLR (E-5)

I understand exactly what you feel regarding the manual and its apparent need to be explained in depth by articles such as these.The thing is complex enough as is.I think that a lot of this could have been fixed if Olympus had used better translators. At least that is assuming the Japanese version of the camera doesn't suffer from the rather weird/unconventional names for some of the features mentioned.

OTOH there's always a need for more in depth articles for a device as complex as this anyway. Consider the fact that there are 3rd party books dedicated to the famous Canon and Nikon cameras.

This is a great article. As a future E-M5 owner, I'll definitely be coming back to this, especially for the "recommended" jpg settings. Great info there on turning off the noise filter which I normally do but then also pulling down sharpness which I would not have thought to do.

I'm guessing you guys just created a bunch of new work for you all as owners of other popular cameras will soon be clamoring for guides for their cameras. More work is never a bad thing :)

One question? as it is to shoot the same image twice with different configurations and still look like one, perhaps stopped the time to take the same photos with other settings?I mean the two images that refer to the fine and superfine settings. Obviously nobody is going to find any difference in these two images as they are the same, so I see it. I think not even shot with the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 to get two identical images, when a train is moving, the wind moves the trees, the birds walk on the beach, the waves in the water, etc, etc. is that not even taking a photo with two cameras next to each other .. not you think so?I believe that DP will be merged to the brain looking for a difference in these photos.

Processing a shot raw file in-camera gives just the same final result as shooting it originally as jpeg. This method gives you a great option make several different jpegs and test how jpegs look like at various jpeg settings.-p-

Not an E-M5 user yet, but I may become one.This kind of guide is useful, even for long time Olympus users.Wrotniak used to write them.It's good to see DPR taking the torch (albeit in a different way).Roel

Thanks for this, seems like a near perfect camera although I would like focus peeking and a fully articulated LCD (and a variable aspect sensor would be candy!) Cant have everything though. I intend to buy into MFT later in the year so unless Panasonic pulls a rabbit out of the hat by Christmas the OM-D looks like it will be that camera. Just need to work on the budget for lenses.

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After the CP+ show in Yokohama closed last week, editor Barnaby Britton journeyed out to Olympus's design facility in Hachioji to speak to executives and engineers. Among the people he spoke to was Hirofumi Imano, Division Manager of Product Strategy. In a broad-ranging interview, Mr. Imano explained the company's strategies for competing in a tough market, the genesis of the OM-D line, opportunities in video and why he thinks Canon and Nikon might not be making high-end mirrorless cameras.

Olympus has issued a firmware update for the OM-D E-M5, adding two new features that owners should welcome: an extended 'Low' ISO setting and smaller AF points. The ISO 100-equivalent setting promises lower noise, and enables shooting of fast primes at closer to maximum aperture in daylight, but comes at the cost of earlier highlight clipping. Also being added to the E-M5 is the ability to select smaller AF target points for more accurate focusing. Get the update

CES 2014: We got our hands on the recently announced Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm F1.2 ASPH OIS at the CES trade show in Las Vegas. It's an ultra-fast portrait prime for Micro Four Thirds that offers an 85mm equivalent field of view. We shot some quick samples mounted on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3, including an aperture progression series. We've just added 16 more images to our previously-published gallery, taken with the new lens attached to an Olympus OM-D E-M5. See gallery

The holidays are a great time to take pictures — and they're a great time to get a camera for yourself or for a loved one. With more than 50 cameras going through the hands of the DPReview team over the year, we've seen it all (or so we think). Based on our collective knowledge we hope this guide will help you make an informed decision on which camera will fit your needs. In part 2, we look at mid-level mirrorless cameras.

Latest in-depth reviews

The Leica Q2 is an impressively capable fixed-lens, full-frame camera with a 47MP sensor and a sharp, stabilized 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens. It's styled like a traditional Leica M rangefinder and brings a host of updates to the hugely popular original Leica Q (Typ 116) that was launched in 2015.

The Edelkrone DollyONE is an app-controlled, motorized flat surface camera dolly. The FlexTILT Head 2 is a lightweight head that extends, tilts and pans. They aren't cheap, but when combined these two products provide easy camera mounting, re-positioning and movement either for video work or time lapse photography.

Are you searching for the best image quality in the smallest package? Well, the GR III has a modern 24MP APS-C sensor paired with an incredibly sharp lens and fits into a shirt pocket. But it's not without its caveats, so read our full review to get the low-down on Ricoh's powerful new compact.

The Olympus OM-D E-M1X is the ultimate sports, action and wildlife camera for professional Micro Four Thirds users. However, it can't quite match the level of AF reliability offered by its full frame competitors.

Latest buying guides

What's the best camera for under $500? These entry level cameras should be easy to use, offer good image quality and easily connect with a smartphone for sharing. In this buying guide we've rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing less than $500 and recommended the best.

What’s the best camera costing over $2000? The best high-end camera costing more than $2000 should have plenty of resolution, exceptional build quality, good 4K video capture and top-notch autofocus for advanced and professional users. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing over $2000 and recommended the best.

What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? Fast continuous shooting, reliable autofocus and great battery life are just three of the most important factors. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting sports and action, and recommended the best.

What’s the best camera for less than $1000? The best cameras for under $1000 should have good ergonomics and controls, great image quality and be capture high-quality video. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing under $1000 and recommended the best.

If you're looking for a high-quality camera, you don't need to spend a ton of cash, nor do you need to buy the latest and greatest new product on the market. In our latest buying guide we've selected some cameras that while they're a bit older, still offer a lot of bang for the buck.

We've updated our waterproof camera buying guide with the latest round of rugged compacts, and we've crowned a new winner as the best pick in the category: the Olympus TG-6. That is, unless you happen to find a good deal on the TG-5.

Researchers with the Samsung AI Center in Moscow and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology have created a system that transforms still images into talking portraits with as little as a single image.

K&R Photographics, a camera store in Crescent Springs, Kentucky, was robbed by armed men, who not only took thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment, but also injured the 70-year-old co-owner of the store.

The new Fujifilm GFX 100 boasts some impressive specifications, including 100MP, in-body stabilization and 4K video. But what's it like to shoot with? Senior Editor Barnaby Britton found out on a recent trip to Florence, Italy.

It's here! The long-awaited next-generation Fujifilm GFX has been officially launched. Click through to learn more about the camera that Fujifilm is hoping will shake up the pro photography market - the GFX100.

We've known about the Fujifilm GFX 100 since last fall, but now it's official: this 102MP medium-format monster will be available at the end of June for $10,000. In addition to its incredible resolution, the camera also has in-body IS, a hybrid AF system, 4K video and a removable EVF.

According to DJI, any drone model weighing over 250 grams will have AirSense Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receivers installed to help drone operators know when planes and helicopters are nearby.

Chris and Jordan are kicking off a new segment in which they make feature suggestions to manufacturers for the benefit of all photographer-kind. To start things off, they take a look at the humble USB-C port and everything it could be doing for us.

The Olympus TG-5 is one of our favorite waterproof cameras, and the company today introduced the TG-6, a relatively low-key update. New features include the addition of an anti-reflective coating on the sensor, a higher-res LCD, and more underwater and macro modes.

The Leica Q2 is an impressively capable fixed-lens, full-frame camera with a 47MP sensor and a sharp, stabilized 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens. It's styled like a traditional Leica M rangefinder and brings a host of updates to the hugely popular original Leica Q (Typ 116) that was launched in 2015.

We've been playing around with a prototype of the new Peak Design Travel Tripod and are impressed so far: it's incredibly compact, fast to deploy and stable enough for the heaviest bodies. However, the price may turn some away.